When I was asked to be the director of the WorldView series at Trinity, I was excited and honored. WorldView was a new program—only a year old—and the idea behind it was one that I endorse and applaud.

As a student at Trinity in the 1960s, I and my classmates were always talking about how Christians can have an impact on the world in which they live. Being a music major at that time, I had a strong appreciation for the arts. Later, as an elected official, I saw the importance of being involved in the world to make a difference in the community.

WorldView combines both of those passions for me. As a series of lectures, films, music, and art that is open -- without charge! -- to both the College community and the community at-large, it is our opportunity to learn from leaders in our world, to experience the joy that comes from the arts, and to do it all at Trinity with our neighbors and friends. The hope is that our faith is enhanced, our community relationships are strengthened, and our students and attendees are challenged by what they see and hear.

It is my personal hope that someday, through the WorldView series, Trinity will be seen as “the” place to come for growth and inspiration.

October 4, 2010 – Tom Key, “C.S. Lewis on Stage”

Tom Key is the producing artistic director of Theatrical Outfit, Atlanta’s fastest growing professional theatre company, where Key has presented the world premiere of his play based on Walker Percy’s National Book Award Winning Novel The Moviegoer. He is well known for his award-winning performances in the celebrated off-Broadway musical Cotton Patch Gospel,which he conceived and co-authored with the late singer-songwriter, Harry Chapin. Film and television appearances include In the Heat of the Night and I’ll Fly Away.

View a video clip from C.S. Lewis on StageLocation: Marg Kallemeyn Theatre (located in the Art and Communication Center)

October 11, 2010 – Clarence Page, syndicated columnist

Clarence Page, the 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner for Commentary, has been a columnist and a member of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board since 1984. Page is an occasional guest panelist on “The McLaughlin Group,” a monthly contributor of essays to the “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” and a biweekly commentator on “Sunday Morning Edition” on National Public Radio. He is a frequent guest on national news programs, including ABC’s “Nightline” and “Good Morning America,” NBC’s Today, and CNN.Location: Ozinga Chapel Grand Lobby.

The real life hero of Jennifer Lopez’s film, Bordertown, Barbara Martinez Jitner posed as a factory worker on the U.S./Mexico border in order to uncover a dark world of grueling poverty and sexual abuse that leads to murder. The film was inspired by Martinez Jitner’s critically acclaimed documentary, La Frontera which was released in 2007. Martinez Jitner is one of the first Latina executive producers of a primetime network television series. The Emmy nominated American Family made history when it debuted in 2002 as the first Latino drama on broadcast television.Location: Ozinga Chapel Grand Lobby.

October 25, 2010 – Michael Card, singer songwriter author

In a career that spans 25 years, Michael Card has recorded over 23 albums, authored or co-authored over 19 books, hosted a radio program, and written for a wide range of magazines. While he has penned such favorites as “El Shaddai,” “Love Crucified Arose,” and “Emmanuel,” he never imagined selling more than four million albums or writing over 19 #1 hits.Location: Ozinga Chapel Auditorium

Trinity’s WorldView series welcomed dramatists, singers, and speakers to campus Mondays in October.

On October 5, actress and clergywoman Linda Loving presented the one-woman drama “Julian” about the life of medieval mystic Julian of Norwich. Julian is the first-known English woman whose written work survives. In the midst of great turmoil, Julian spoke words of comfort, of hope, of forgiveness, and of revelation.

Former CEO of Chicago Public Schools Paul Vallas currently serves as Superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans. He spoke to the Trinity audience on October 12 on the topic “How to fix America’s public education.” Vallas has been implementing sweeping district-wide reforms in New Orleans, duplicating many of the initiatives that turned the school systems of Philadelphia and Chicago into nationally recognized models for education reform.

One of the most prominent interpreters of religion and culture today, Martin Marty presented “LETHAL RELIGION— Around the World, in the Nation, and Down the Block” on October 19. Marty is an ordained minister, author of more than 50 books, and a Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago.

Visitors enjoyed a choral chamber music performance by a cappella group Bella Voce on October 26. Their wide-ranging repertoire includes a cappella literature of the mid- and late-twentieth century, works commissioned from American composers, and sacred music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

The second annual WorldView, a community and college series for film, word, and music, drew hundreds of people to campus to be entertained, informed, educated, and inspired. Events were held Mondays in October.

On October 6, following the film “The Power of Forgiveness,” winner of the Best Film award at the Sun Valley Film Festival, guest panelists shared their own moving testimonies of forgiveness during this first event in the series. Guests included: Rev. Roger Nelson, pastor of Hope Christian Reformed Church, Oak Forest, Illinois, whose father, Dr. Ronald Nelson, was murdered during a hold up in the parking lot of Roseland Christian Ministries Center in Chicago in 1985; Gail Rice, who lost her brother, Bruce VanderJagt, in 1997 when the Denver police officer was killed in the line of duty; and Ronald Holt, whose 16-year-old son Blair was fatally wounded by a teenaged gunman while protecting a friend on a CTA bus in Chicago last year.

Especially relevant during this electoral year, Richard Norton Smith, well-known historian, biographer, and nationally recognized authority on the American presidency, presented “Does Character Count?” on October 13. Smith is currently a scholar in residence at George Mason University in suburban Washington, D.C., and has also been appointed the ABC News presidential historian.

On October 20, Trinity welcomed Mary Fisher. Fisher is an advocate, an author, and the special representative of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). She shared her experience as an HIV-positive woman living out her professional roles and her role as a mother. Fisher is also the founder of the Mary Fisher Clinical AIDS Research and Education (CARE) Fund. She has spoken at universities, churches, and conferences around the country.

The WorldView series ended with hundreds of people filling the auditorium to enjoy the music of Christian recording artist Fernando Ortega. “My records have always been about how the Gospels find expression in a person’s everyday life—the sorrowful, the mundane, the joyful,” said Ortega. He said the focus of this latest release, “The Shadow of Your Wings,” is one of devotion.

The new WorldView at Trinity, a community and college series for film, word, and music, began on a celebratory and joyful note as the Watoto Children’s Choir attracted nearly 700 people to the OzingaChapel for the first fall event. Audience members, including students, faculty, staff, community members, and friends of the College, enjoyed the musical and dance giftings of these Ugandan orphans and heard testimonies of how God has rescued them from hopelessness. Before the concert, Dr. Helen Van Wyck, professor of music, and several music students enjoyed a time of food and fellowship with the choir.

WorldView is an annual community and college series for film, word, and music, held on Mondays in October at 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Beth Decker at 708.293.4908.

Naomi Tutu is the third child of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nomalizo Leah Tutu. The challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of her life as an activist for human rights. In her speeches she blends a passion for human dignity with humor and personal stories.

Based on a true story: As part of Corrie ten Boom’s army of untrained students, Hans, Piet, and their friends navigate a deadly labyrinth of challenges to rescue Jewish people from Nazi capture. The film’s climax is the true, breath-taking rescue of an orphanage of Jewish children from Hitler’s assassins.

WorldView is an annual community and college series for film, word, and music, held on Mondays in October at 7 p.m. in the Ozinga Chapel. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Beth Decker at 708.293.4908.

October 29—Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, address “The Power of Partnerships”

Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education.

TONIGHT'S WORLDVIEW LECTURE IS CANCELED. Due to airline cancellations related to Hurricane Sandy, Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell will be unable to fly in from Washington, DC. She sends her regrets and apologies, but the situation cannot be helped. Trinity hopes to reschedule Rev. Girton-Mitchell at some time in the future..

WorldView is an annual community and college series for film, word, and music, held on Mondays in October at 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Beth Decker at 708.293.4908.

WorldView 2013 Series

Tom Key is the producing artistic director of Theatrical Outfit, an Atlanta professional theatre company. Key has performed at the Lambs Theater off-Broadway, the John F. Kennedy Center of Washington D.C., the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Theater Center and the Alliance. With the late singer-songwriter, Harry Chapin, he conceived and co-authored the off-Broadway musical hit, “Cotton Patch Gospel.” Most recently he has adapted John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces at T.O. and starred in T.O.’s “The Young Man from Atlanta.”

The Apollo Chorus of Chicago is the area’s premier volunteer choir and one of the oldest musical ensembles in the United States. Its 110-plus auditioned members include men and women of all ages, races, creeds, and occupations brought together by their love of singing. Each season, Apollo presents the masterworks of Western choral music, from Baroque to Broadway. The group has also been featured in several television, recording, and live performance collaborations.

Reverend Brenda Girton-Mitchell, J.D. is the director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education. She provides leadership to help meet the goal of engaging community-based organizations, both faith-based and secular in building a culture of high expectations and support for education. She also works as part of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to implement its mission in cooperation with the Centers for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at 12 other federal agencies.

October 28 – Donna Freitas – “Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance and Religion on America’s College Campuses”Location: Ozinga ChapelDonna Freitas is the author of Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance and Religion on America's College Campuses, published by Oxford University Press in 2008, and her follow-up title is called, The End of Sex (Basic Books). Freitas has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Newsweek, and she has appeared on NPR, “The Today Show,” and other news media outlets. Freitas has been a professor at Boston University in the department of religion and also at Hofstra University in their Honors College. She also writes children’s novels for Scholastic, Harper Collins, and FSG. She lives in Brooklyn.